


the sun can warm the skin (but there’s far less skin about)

by jamesiee



Category: Check Please! (Webcomic)
Genre: Autumn, Day 1: Seasonal Activities, Gen, OMGCPWomenWeek, Samwell Women's Volleyball Team - Freeform, Seasonal activities, Summer, corn maze, fall - Freeform, women of Check Please!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-09-17
Updated: 2017-09-17
Packaged: 2018-12-30 21:47:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12117891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jamesiee/pseuds/jamesiee
Summary: Caitlin bounces on her toes while she waits for her name to be called by the barista. She’s been back at Samwell for just about a month and a half, back in classes for three weeks, and she thinks there’s enough of a chill in the air that Annie’s should have their pumpkin spice drinks out, but the barista didn’t agree when she tried to order ordered a PSL. The caramel latte she’d had to get instead will have to satisfy the sugar craving her Friday afternoon anthropology class always gives her, but she’s not holding her breath. Caramel is the lesser of Fall flavours in her opinion.Some people celebrate the start of Fall. Some people pretend it's still Summer.





	the sun can warm the skin (but there’s far less skin about)

**Author's Note:**

> No explicit pairings, but Farmer/Chowder is referenced.
> 
> Completely unbeta'd so any spelling or grammar mistakes are my own. 
> 
> For Day 1 of [OMGCheckPlease Women Week](https://omgcpwomen.tumblr.com/post/164669990232/omgcheckplease-women-week-september-17-23-2017): Seasonal Activities

Caitlin bounces on her toes while she waits for her name to be called by the barista. She’s been back at Samwell for just about a month and a half, back in classes for three weeks, and she thinks there’s enough of a chill in the air that Annie’s should have their pumpkin spice drinks out, but the barista didn’t agree when she tried to order ordered a PSL. The caramel latte she’d had to get instead will have to satisfy the sugar craving her Friday afternoon anthropology class always gives her, but she’s not holding her breath. Caramel is the lesser of Fall flavours in her opinion. 

Her name is called just as she’s getting on the wrong side of hangry, and she slides the cardboard sleeve she’s been worrying at on the paper cup that holds the extra hot drink. She says, "thank you," and gets a smile from the tired looking barista, different from the one who insists that pumpkin spice isn’t in season yet. She thinks that maybe he would’ve made her a drink with the pumpkin spice syrup she knows has to be somewhere in the store if the promotional countdowns are anything to go by.

A gust of wind rushes into the cafe as Caitlin shoulders open the door to leave, so she tucks her chin into her collar, grateful for the warmth of the latte, even though it’s not pumpkin spice, seeping into her hands as she walks towards the Volleyball House. 

The sun is warm on her skin too, warmer than expected considering how low it is in the sky. The days have been getting shorter too and like every year, Caitlin will mourn the summer, but she’s looking forward to Fall too, when she can get use out of the scarves she’s bought strictly for East Coast use. Thick, knit fabrics don’t really have a place in California. Plus, call her a stereotype or whatever, but pumpkin spice anything doesn’t taste nearly as good iced. 

She turns to start up the walkway to the Court and almost drops her latte when she sees another stereotype. This one is Canadian and blonde and Caitlin doesn’t know why she’s surprised by anything that happens at the Volleyball House anymore. 

“Are you fucking insane?” she asks March, who’s lying out on a Spongebob beach towel in a bright pink bikini on the dirt that passes for a front lawn. She has Carly Rae Jepsen playing on her phone. April’s there too on her own My Little Pony towel, but she’s got sleeves and pants on, and is sitting up cross legged so she can read from a book thick enough to be a textbook, but could honestly just be something she’s reading for fun. 

“Oh hey Farms.” March sits up on her elbows, and pushes her big sunglasses down her nose so she can look at Caitlin. 

“Nice to see you too,” April says. She looks up at Caitlin, shielding her eyes from the sun, and smirking now that there’s another witness to March’s ridiculousness. She dog ears the page she was on and closes the book.

“They’re practically selling PSL’s, you can’t seriously be out in a bikini,” Caitlin says, pointing at her paper cup with her free hand to emphasize who ‘they’ is. 

“Wanna keep this tan for as long as possible,” March replies, gesturing at her body. Caitlin and April both snort; March is as pale as she was when they left for the summer. 

“Fuck you both,” March sniffs, laying back down. “It’s like plus twenty; perfect tanning weather.” 

“I don’t know what that means, but it’s been in the sixties all day which is not perfect tanning weather.” Caitlin shakes her head. “Besides, I’m pretty sure if you’re nips are hard, it’s too cold to be tanning.”

“Excuse you, my nips could be hard because I have outtie nipples, you don’t know.” 

“I do know because that’s something you would’ve told us.” Caitlin steps over March, the locker room oversharer, and goes up the stairs to the door. She lets herself in and gets through pretending to read half a chapter before March and April join her in the kitchen. 

“Oh, sun too hot?” Caitlin asks. March is still standing in the doorway, but Caitlin’s can still see the blonde hairs on March’s thighs standing up from the goosebumps all over her body. April laughs loudly.

“What happened to quiet little frog Farmer?” March asks. “I want her back, she was nice.” 

“She would agree that now is not the time to be suntan- hey!” Caitlin protests as March steals a sip of her latte. 

“Oh gross.” March makes a face. “That’s not pumpkin. You said PSL’s were out.” 

“I said practically.” Caitlin makes a grabby hand for her drink back, but March passes it off to April.

“We’re gonna check out the corn maze tonight,” April says, after she’s taken a sip to confirm that it’s not pumpkin spice. “Oh whoa, that’s sweet.” She smacks her lips, whether to get rid of the taste or enhance it Caitlin doesn't know, and finally Caitlin gets her drink back. “You in?” 

“Is it even open?” Caitlin asks. “It’s pretty early, no?” 

“Too early for corn maze, too late for sun tanning, are you ever truly happy Farmer?” March muses. She dodges the cardboard sleeve Caitlin throws. 

“I just mean, is the corn tall enough to be a maze?” Caitlin continues.

“Probably not,” April shrugs. “But you feel like a giant finding your way through the baby corn stalks, it’s fun. Plus, we’ll make Irish coffees or something to go.” 

“Yeah okay. I’ll go with Chris once they’re fully grown,” Caitlin says. He was on some preseason team bonding things this weekend and she had already done more than she planned for her own weekend off, the last one they’ll have before the volleyball season fully kicks off, by going to the Volleyball House instead of her dorm after classes, but a corn maze sounds exactly like something they could do any afternoon they both have off to hit their self-imposed in-season monthly date quota.  

“Fiiiiine,” March and April say at the same time.  

“For mentioning a hypothetical date?” Caitlin rolls her eyes and finishes her latte. Her captains have been spending too much time with the hockey captains.

“Preemptive fine?” April tries. 

“No.”

“Frog Caitlin would pay the fine.” March says. 

“Go hang out with the frogs then.” 

“I think they’re still scared of us.” 

“Because it’s intimidating when you pretend not to feel the cold!” Caitlin says, pointedly staring at March’s hard nipples. March just grins, unashamed. 

“Unless you’re gonna wear that to the corn maze—no,” April cuts herself off when March starts to looks thoughtful. “I’ll start fining for nudity.“

“We’d get a lot out of Grace and Bekka,” March says, but she leaves the kitchen to put on actual clothes. 

“Are you gonna be okay in what you’ve got on or do you wanna more layers?” April asks Caitlin. Caitlin doesn’t even have to think about her answer.

“More layers please,” she says. 

She may love fall, but that doesn’t mean she’ll ever get used to the chilly East Coast weather during the season. April nods, she probably expected the answer and goes to get more clothes for her and Caitlin to put on. By the time March comes back down in jeans and an oversized flannel, with the sleeves rolled up so no one forgets she’s Canadian, Caitlin has fit another sweatshirt under her cardigan and is in the process of waiting for a text from Bekka that says Caitlin can borrow her puffy vest. She gets the text, and April finishes wrapping herself up her layers and they both ignore anything that March has to say about Fall temperatures. 

The sun is just dipping below the horizon by the time they have dinner and get to maze. It provides no warmth and barely any light, but despite Caitlin having to wrap practically her whole body around the thermos of Bailey’s and hot chocolate for warmth, she’s happy that an East Coast fall means that she’s with her East Coast friends.

**Author's Note:**

> My [tumblr](http://pongpalace.tumblr.com) if you wanna come hang out :)


End file.
